Obese people who have poor sleep experience a greater number of mood swings and have poor life quality, a new study finds.
Obesity is a weight disorder that has many health implications, both physical and mental.
Researchers of a new study found that obesity has major mental health implications, especially among obese individual who suffer from sleep apnea. Such people experience a high number of mood swings and also poor life quality, according to a press release.
"There was a clear association between the sleep problems such as short sleep duration and the psychological disorders and with quality of life," said Dr. G. Neil Thomas, study lead and reader in epidemiology at the Department of Public Health, Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom. "These associations remained significant even after adjusting for a range of potential confounders."
The study was conducted on 270 patients with a mean body mass index (BMI) of 47.0 kg/m2 who were consecutively enrolled in a regional specialist weight management service. The participants had an average age of 43. Using standardized questions, researchers were able to determine factors like sleep disturbance, daytime sleepiness, mood and quality of life among the participants.
They found that 74.8 percent of participants were poor sleepers, and their mean self-reported sleep duration was only six hours and 20 minutes. Fifty-two percent of study subjects were anxious, and 43 percent were depressed. After controlling for age, sex, hypertension, diabetes, and obstructive sleep apnea, sleep quality and daytime sleepiness were significantly associated with mood disturbance and quality of life impairment.
"This study emphasizes the need for physicians to conduct routine screenings for sleep problems among people with severe obesity," said American Academy of Sleep Medicine President Dr. M. Safwan Badr. "Improving sleep quality and quantity will provide a physical, mental and emotional boost for people who are making the difficult lifestyle changes involved in managing obesity."
The significant role of sleep in people with severe obesity most often goes unnoticed. Previous studies have established that the early detection of poor sleep can help prevent psychological problems among obese people, according to Medical Express.
"Despite the very high levels of problems in these patients, those involved with their care usually don't ask about sleep problems and often pay little heed to the psychological issues underlying the obesity," said Thomas. "The focus is often on treating the obesity and its consequences, such as diet and exercise interventions, rather than addressing its underlying cause, which may be psychological in nature, such as an unhappy marriage or job stress."
According to CDC, more than 35.7 percent of adult Americans are obese with BMIs over 30. The country spends more than $147 billion each year on illness caused due to this weight disorder.
